Lughnasa

Lughnasa

"About the Calends of August Taltiu died on a Monday, on the feast of Lughnasad of Lug; around her grave from that Monday forth is held the chief fair of noble Erin."
    ____ The Metrical Dindshenchas, ed. Edward Gwynn (trans. CM)


     This feast is often understood to be a celebration of the Irish god Lugh (LOO'kh), but this is not the case. The festival is celebrated primarily in honor of Lugh's foster mother, Taltiu (TAWL'too), who single-handedly cleared the plains of Ireland of trees in order that agriculture and the grazing of cattle might take place. The necessary work is remembered and honored in the myth of Taltiu. The word Lughnasa (LOO'nas-ah) comes from the old Irish Lugh nasad, or 'the binding promise or duty of Lugh.'  On the death of his foster-mother, Lugh caused funeral games to be held in her honor. Over time, these games devolved into a fair, held annually at Telltown in County Meath. On this eve, the sacred time of harvest is celebrated - a time for harvest suppers and for enjoying all the varieties of food that have been in short supply.
    At another level, Lugh's honoring of Taltiu acknowledges the bounty of harvest and the contract that exists between all living beings and the earth. It is in that acknowledgment that the last sheaf of grain is harvested and honored to be bound about the churn-dash in the form of a woman of sprouting hair and spreading stalks, or to be woven into complex shapes as a corn dolly.

"Make your own promise to the land this evening, as the sun strikes the harvesting earth with the last rays. Meditate upon how you can keep this time sacred to your spiritual practice."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

Farewell to the Season of Beltane

(to be said at the back door/window of the house on the last morning of Beltane, July 31st)

Go with thanks and go with blessing,

Season of vitality.

Souls with life are deeply freighted

Hearts are full of energy.

Under bud and blossom traveling,

You have come to Summer's growth.

Soul-Smith, who has forged this brightness,

Flower-Maid, whose lips have kissed,

Touch the hidden fruit within us,

Bring us into Autumn's bliss.

[From: Celtic Devotional by Caitlin Matthews]



Holy Day or Holiday?

Holy Day or Holiday

"The sharp division of work from play and the natural from the supernatural has turned holy days into holidays."
    ____ Jacquetta Hawkes, A Land


    For most people, holy days are now just holidays, periods when they do not work, perhaps enjoying themselves in a recreative way. There is little or no sacred element left in holidays anymore; they have become one-way streets, days to be spent solely in gratifying our own needs. In centuries past, holy days were two-way streets; time was spent not only in recreation but also in honoring the Holy Ones to whom the day was dedicated, with some part of the time set aside for spiritual communion, remembrance and veneration.
     Holy days are days outside mundane time and business, days when we give ourselves time to be present, soul to spirit, with our spiritual helpers. It is important that we celebrate the days that are holy to us, whether they be religious festivals, personal remembrances, memorials for friends and family no longer alive, the two equinoxes and two solstices, the four Celtic festivals or days dedicated to inspirers and teachers who have changed our lives.
     When spiritual and recreative observances each inform and delight the other, holy days and holidays take their rightful balance in our lives.

"Which holy days do you celebrate? If you could create a special holy day in the calendar, what would it be in aid of, what activities and celebrations would honor it, and on which day would you hold it?"
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

The Mound of Wonders

The Mound of Wonders

"Whoever sits upon this mound cannot go hence without either receiving blows or else seeing a great wonder."
     _____ Pwyll, Princde of Dyfed, from The Mabinogion



     Ascending to mounds and high place in order to look out over the land in a divinatory way was a common practice among the Celts. It was especially customary in the days leading up to Lughnasa, when the harvest was in its last week of ripening. It was a method of auguring what the year would bring, as well as an honoring of the land.
     The Mound of Wonders is a place where the veil between the worlds is thin. Prince Pwyll decides to ascend this sacred seat of wonder in order to take an augury of this reign, and while there he sees a great wonder indeed: a woman in a golden dress riding upon a horse. He learns that she is Rhiannon, a woman from the Underworld, and that she has come thither in order to marry him. Pwyll believes himself to be in receipt of the wonders promised by the Mound, but his subsequent story has enough heavy blows in it to render his prophetic expectations low.
    Pwyll's experience on the Mound of Wonders demonstrates the double nature of seership and prophecy: the thing that is shown often bears an unsuspected barb in its tail. Our expectations of divinatory methods lead us to accept the best and to reject the worst findings of our augury, to embrace the prophesied end but to ignore the rather irksome human means to its achievement. But once we have called out in question to the otherworld, we have to bear the burden of the answer.

"Go out into the countryside and climb to a high place where you can look out over the land. Ask for an augury of the land for the coming season."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

Off Days

Off Days

"Many a time I wish I were other than I am. I'm weary of the
solemn tide; of the little fields; of the brooding isle."
     ____ Alistair MacLean, Hebridean Altars


      Some days the very thought of having to go to work, having to go about our accustomed duties, having to process our tasks and meet our commitments conscientiously just makes us want to scream. It is especially hard to continue working when everyone around us is enjoying vacation. The sense of dissatisfaction can become almost intolerable. Sometimes we just wish we could be somewhere else, far enough away that we would not even glimpse the furniture anymore. When things get this bad, it is time to have a free day or two, time to do something uncharacteristic and spontaneous.
    But sometimes these feelings of dissatisfaction are a symptom of something more important than the need for a temporary break or holiday. When divine discontent strikes, this feeling often will not go away until we have taken radical action. When we ignore our spiritual mainspring, when our power is neglected, minor illnesses and depressions serve as the body's escape route.
    Being in an intolerable position - whether in our job or in a relationship - can also drain our power. Depression, involving an involuntary loss of vitality and appetite for life, is often a strong symptom of power loss. When power is waning or absent, it is essential to discover what is draining the battery and deal with it quickly before our vital energy is gone. Continual powerlessness leads to low self-esteem, which in turn leads to diminished physical and nurture.

"Are you just needing a break, or are your feelings of dissatisfaction symptomatic of a more profound need for change?  Reconnect with the things, places, and people that give you energy and rekindle your appetite for life."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

The Elements

The Elements

"If I break faith, may the skies fall upon me, may the seas
drown me, may the earth rise up and swallow me,"
    ____ ancient Gaulish oath of the elements


    This mighty oath binds the swearer's existence to the dust of the ancient Celtic elements themselves. We take the elements' gifts for granted, we do not think for even a minute about the air we breathe, the water we wash with, or the earth that sustains our every step.
    But this ancient oath has more ominous and immediate connotations in our age. We have taken the elements so much for granted, dis-respected their gifts so absolutely, that we have made it more than possible for the skies to fall on us, for the earth to swallow us, for seas to overwhelm us. As heavy industry pollutes the air, the air quality grows poorer; as the earth heats up from the greenhouse effect, the ice caps begin to melt and the seas rise; as we fill the earth with our unrecyclable waste, the soil itself becomes poisonous and infertile. We forgot the meaning of this oath long ago, and now we are reminded.
   The broad and beautiful gifts of the elements are so willing, able, and bounteous. They clothe, nurture, and irrigate the planet and all its inhabitants freely and blessedly. To keep faith with the elements, we need to make an intentioned effort to sustain the life-flow of our planet by putting our minds and hearts and actions to the uplifting of life. These precious elements of air, water, and earth are the triad of powers that maintain the life of the world. Preserved by the warmth of the sun and these three mighty powers. our earth has heat, light and life. Without them it is cold, dark, dry and barren

"Consider each of the elements as you use them. When washing your hands, lighting a fire or stove, taking your first breath of fresh air, walking to work, stop and be thankful for their gifts. Bless them, and pray that they be preserved in peace, so that human hubris may not invoke the ancient oath upon our dear planet."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

Journey to the Heart of the Labyrinth

Journey to the Heart of the Labyrinth

"Spiralling towards the center,
We know that we have come to the center of who we are."
     ______ Philip Carr, The Druid Traditions

      The old Cornish midwives of the southwest tip of Britain used to have a flat stone into whose depths a spiral labyrinth was carved. Expectant mothers, about to give birth, would be encouraged to trace this spiral pathway in order to help the birth. By tracing it over and over with their fingers and reciting certain secret prayers, they could help the long gestation of the child draw to its close. It was belived that this practice would clear any obstacles standing in the way of of an easy birth and bring the child forth from its long month in the dark.
     The correlations between the birth process.and our own spiral circuit with the labyrinth become clearest when we trace the route of our life to date. In order to begin our spiritual journey. we must first be born from the heart of the labyrinth: the mysterious womb. As children we know our origins; as adults we begin to forget so we have to painfully take the path home in unknowing coil by coil. For many of us. the heart of the labyrinth, the goal of the spiritual journey, is anticipated as a place of horror, a stalking place for Minotaurs and other beasts. But though we may expect to find all kinds of alien and external influences lurking there, we find, on arrival, nothing more than ourselves.
    Only by treading the turning, spiraling coils of the labyrinth of our lives can we come to perfect understanding of what lies at the center. It is as familiar to us, as clear and memorable, as the road that leads homeward.

"Meditate upon the different phase of your life in roughly seven-year intervals. Write down the qualities, discoveries, and themes of each phase. Arrange each of these phases around the paths of a labyrinth, noticing which paths and themes come close to each other."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

Mother-Right

Mother-Right

"They bound themselves by the sun and moon that the possession
of [Pictish kingdom  ......  should be held by right of the female
rather than that of male progeny to the end of the world."
    ____ Geoffrey Keating, Fonus Feasa ar Eirinn


     In our times, a reconsideration of the role and status of women has brought us into new relationship with mother-right, with a proper acknowledgment, of the gifts of the feminine. For men and women this has been a rediscovery of a secret inheritance, for our connection with the mother-country of the soul has been fractured. Our society has been (and for the most part still is) patriarchal: things are ordered from the masculine point of view, generally for the benefit and enhancement of masculine privileges. That which partakes of the feminine has been marginalized and neglected - including not only the lives of women but also feminine side of male nature.
    A whole new way of living and valuing things comes into focus when we consider the mother-right. The hidden side of our nature, then side that intuits rather than reasons, the part that views things from the inside out rather than from the outside in, can come into play when mother-right is allowed to function normally. This does not mean switching a patriarchy for a matriarchy, for each of these extremes is as unbalanced as the other.  Rather, it means allowing the side of our society and individuality that has been recessive to take its rightful place. The recognition of the feminine quietly acknowledges the intrinsically royal nature of mother-right, which speaks as sovereign from the depths of the mother-country - a land that still wants to be fully rediscovered and restored.

"Meditate upon the feminine within your life. Revisit the mother-country of the soul where the feminine's holy and regal nature is recognized."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

Overthrowing Illusions

Overthrowing Illusions

"Each man is in his spectre's power
Until the arrival of that hour
When his humanity awake n
And cast his own spectre into the lake."
    _____ William Blake, "Each Man is in His Spectre's Power"


    Long before Freud and Jung, William Blake coined the word specter to signify the illusory self that, by its appetites and desires, overrules and dictates to the true self. The illusory self becomes our personal image, the projected likeness we want others to see.
    The specter is fed by our patterns of appeasement, by our fear of authority, by our need to be perfect. Lest it take hold of our lives, we have to return to our essential humanity, to the core of our being, to the soul within us, and clarify by the soul's mirror what constitutes self and illusory self. In everything we do, we need to determine whether we are acting out of the core of our integrity or at the dictates of the specter.
    Where mind and heart, reason and compassion are separated, there Blake's specter roams hungry and unchecked through our life.  Casting off our illusory self is an act of maturity that strengthens the light of the soul. Acting out of our own heart, rather than out of projected self, we come once more to the true likeness with which we have been endowed.

"Where is the specter raging through your life? What false projections of your soul are showing on your screen this week? Meditate upon what life would be like without the support of those projections. Search for your true, authentic self."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews] 
  

Imagination

Imagination

"Imagination is the faculty of the soul."
     ____ Caitlin Matthews, Singing the Soul Back Home



    Our imagination is the eye of our soul, the retina of the psyche where are reflected the truths that our soul experiences. To be without contact with our imagination is to be truly blind.
    The imagination perceives the imaginal realm, the reflected image of the otherworld that we cannot see with our physical eyes. Our imagination is commonly stimulated when we make connections based upon this perception: like a ready needle that pierces one piece of fabric and emerges through the other side of another piece of fabric, pulling them together, so does our imagination penetrate the veil between the worlds and show us likenesses of what is eternally true. For some people, these perceptions are very vivid and accurate; for others, they are misty or short-sighted, though they provide a glimpse of something very important.
    If we begin to honor the imagination as a faculty of the soul by taking our problems and dilemmas (as well as our visions and desires) to its threshold, we will be asking the soul for a wider view, a solution that we cannot personally envision but that will enrich our lives.
   
"Meditate upon a dilemma or creative project, actively allowing the imagination to provide perspectives, solutions and answers. These may come as visual images or nonvisually (in sudden insights and intuitions) provided immediately or over the next few days. Record your findings and test them for truth and helpfulness, without discounting what you experience."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

Surveillance and Privacy

Surveillance and Privacy

"Then Llefelys ordered a long horn to be made,
and they talked through it together. But whatever each said to the other through the horn, nothing but hateful hostility came to the ears of the other."
    ____ Lludd and Llefelys (trans. CM)


    In this humorous incident from a Welsh story about the legendary King Lludd (HLITH), the king's realm has been overrun by the Coriandnied (Kor-ANN'y-ed), an otherworldly people so omniscient that no secret can be spoken without their hearing of it. Lludd takes to sea to meet up in private with his wise brother, Llefelys, king of France
    After cleansing the speaking trumpet of obstructing spirits, Llefelys proposes the sprinkling of the crushed bodies of certain insects into the drinking water, which will be poisonous to the Corannied but harmless to the people of Britain. Lludd returns home and follows this suggestion, destroying the ubiquitous Corannied without harming his own folk.
     We live in a society where surveillance is becoming total: in most public places, security cameras pursue and record us. With more aspects of our lives open to scrutiny, there is precious little sense of privacy left. A growing sense of irksome invasion is beginning to characterize our streets, as the new Corannied dog our every step, recording our every move. We no longer feel like private individuals.
    There is no magic insect that will rid us of this ubiquitous plague; indeed, the bugging is all on the other side, as telephones are bugged to record private conversations. There are still wild, open spaces, of course, but even those are monitored by satellite these days. This problem of lost privacy can be combated by forceful representation by human rights organizations to world governments. If we value our liberty, we need to defend our privacy in more vigorous ways.

"How does surveillance bug your life? Is it really necessary?"
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

Image is from http://www.gerardboersma.blogspot.com/

The painting is by Gerard Boersma and is titled:

The Invisible Tyranny of Too Much Entertainment

The Language of Birds

The Language of Birds

"Birds ... now represent the continued presence of the past ...
[which is] evoked by the singing, whistling and calling that fell into
millions of ancestral ears and there left images that we all inherit."
    ____ Jacquetta Hawkes, A Land

    The Celtic peoples held birds in high esteem, as the mouthpieces of Spirit. Their flight and calls were widely used in divination. The term 'language of the birds' is used to mean the secret knowledge that runs beneath the web of words; it implies an almost magical intelligence that does not depend upon the help of any kind of human communication system. It is innate, subtle, coded knowledge that we can somehow understand.
    The idea of the unchanging song of the birds singing in our ears as well as the ears of our ancestors conjures a potent image of the continuatio9n of life - an inheritance so subtle that we must immerse ourselves in the sound of birdcall in order to enter into its richness. The oracular calling of birds speaks directly to our hearts, bypassing our minds; it is a mode of divination that both we and our ancestors had to learn - an unchanging language of meaning.
    The little songbirds who make the sweetest song, the crows and ravens whose raucous call is most vocal, the estuary and marsh birds with their lonesome sound, the hawks and owls shrieking and signaling - all have their own language  and special symbolism, essential elements of our living world.
    If we wish to understand the flight and calling of birds, we must listen near dawn or in the late afternoon, to their song; and listening enter a place of stillness within in order to comprehend their message to us.

"Listen to the singing of the birds today, at dawn or twilight. Meditate with a clear mind and listen to what you are told."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

Conspiring With the Descendants

Conspiring With The Descendants

"Thou shalt be in league with the future, and the
generations to come after shall be at peace with thee."
    ____ Joanna Macy, World as Lover, World as Self


    In what way can we be in league with the beings of the future, or conspire with them? Meditate upon your parents, sense them as though they stood behind you. Now visualize their parents behind them, and theirs behind them. Go back as far as you can from knowledge, and beyond that imagine the lines going back as far as you like. Be aware of all the good things you have inherited from
your ancestors. Now come forward from past times to your own time, aware of the tributaries of blood that flow into the river of your own veins. Now visualize your descendants in front of you, and their children and their children. Go as far forward in time as you like, imagining future generations. Be aware of all that you will bequeath them. Extend your meditation to include all the beings of the future - the many different species of life forms. What is their expectation of you? What can you do to bring peace between you?
      Many people live their lives in fear of an all-powerful deity who they believe will zap them for bad behavior; they are like children who tip-toe around a cranky parent for fear of arousing his temper. How would it be if instead we lived our lives envisioning our descendants, the beings (of every species) of the future? How would it be if we regulated our decisions and life-style with them in mind? Instead of living fearfully or distrustfully, instead of trying to cut corners and steal a march on our forebears, how about living with our descendants in mind?

"What most practical wisdom from your own life would you bequeath to your descendants? Try the meditation suggested above."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

Ancestral Bequests

Ancestral Bequests

"Alienated ancestors gather, drawing close, 
To our bicker and complaint, to knock at aggrieved hearts.
Their plaint to our ears is 'restore, restore.' "
    _____ Caitlin Matthews, "Avebury Easter"


     We have many ancestral inheritances that contribute to our condition. Some are genetic and highly visible; others are not so obvious but are still part of the ancestral bequest - the unfinished business that members of our ancestral family have put off and put off until it comes seeping out in our own lives.
    Many deep, atavistic, or unwelcome urges that have lain dormant within our family line are activated when we reach a certain age or condition of maturity - when we are trying hard to put our life on the right track, to purposefully avoid legacies of failure, fear, anger, or control. There often comes a point when we have to consciously decide not to buy into the negativity of past scenarios and expectations but to turn towards the illumination of the heart.
    The ancestral bequest can be cleared when we stand back and look into the issues that have been haunting our family line. The ability to recognize ancestral failures and expectations for what they are is exceedingly helpful. With that ability, we can acknowledge that our ancestors, like us, were vulnerable, frightened, and attached to their unfinished business. It is not our part to blame them, but rather, in our amending, to leave out hatred and revenge; it is not our part to recreate spirals of exclusion, but rather to pray for the ancestors to be released and to attend to our own lives with the help of our spiritual allies.

"Looking into your recent family history, what issues show signs of being ancestral bequests rather than personal problems?"
[From: The Celtic Spirit Caitlin Matthews]

Following Our Path

Following Our Path

"Whence do you come and whither do you journey?"
"I journey on my own errand."
     ___ Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, from The Mabinogion


   When Pwyll (POO'ilh) first encounters and is questioned by his future wife, Rhiannon, (Hree-ANN'on), he gives her a polite but noncommittal answer as to his identity and purpose.
    It is not wise, after all, to disclose too much about yourself upon any first meeting, unless you have a clear idea of the other person's intentions. As it turns our, Pwyll and Rhiannon are traveling the same road, for she has come from the Underworld with the express purpose of marrying him. Discovering and following our own path is something that is our personal business; it is not something that one person can do for another. We each have to make our own contract with Spirit, rather than existing as an unwitting signatory to someone else's previously drawn-up contract. We have to read all the fine print before we sign, learning everything we can about the obligations and commitments before showing our hand. Spontaneous response and heartfelt enthusiasm are not good bases for decision making.
    When we search for our spiritual path, we need to reassess, consolidate, and recommit our spiritual focus - and check contractual details. It is all right to stay where we are - as long as we realize that compromising our truth is dangerous.

"If you are oriented on your path by a set of rules not of your making, or coasting along with a contract you have not fully consented to, ask yourself what strongly held beliefs that course is ignoring or causing you to change or diminish."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

Irritations

Irritations

"I went to the hill and I got it.
I sat on a knoll and I sought it.
And if I would get it I would leave it.
Since I did not get it, I took it with me.
[A thorn in the foot.]
    ___ Scots Gaelic riddle


     There is no surefire way to avoid irritations, no magic formula that will ease them out of our way. They arrive without warning to plague us, and we have to get on and deal with them. Some of the tiresomeness can be alleviated, however, if we see many of our irritations as reminders of neglected areas of our life. The laws of cause and effect set in train a whole series of actions; similarly, undone actions have effects upon our lives. The things we neglect return to plague us: from the overdue car service, to the dental examination we keep meaning to have; from our failure to reply to an important letter, to the long silence we have meted out to a close relative. Breakdowns, aching jaws, lost opportunities, aggrieved friends and irate family members suddenly loom large in our schedule, nearly overturning everything we had planned.
    The universe has its own way of getting our attention and making us attend to what is important. Sometimes little irritations that go untended become larger ones. A thorn in the foot can be removed, but if gangrene sets in, the whole leg may have to be removed. The little irritations may bite and worry us, but they certainly do not take kindly ti compromise or neglect.

"Review the irritations that you have currently; trace back their root cause, where possible, and find any connections between your negligence and their arrival. Act swiftly and appropriately if particular irritations seem to recur frequently."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

The Divine Feminine

The Divine Feminine

"There was an Old Woman who lived under the hill
And if she's not gone, she lives there still."
    ____ traditional British rhyme

    Feminine and masculine are the left and right hands of God. We have only recently begun to remember the divine feminine and to respect Her again, but she has never been far from us. Earth herself reminds us of the living presence of the feminine principle as she unfolds her many faces through the cycle of the year. The Old Woman who lives under the hill is the oldest grandmother of us all: our very substance derives from her; and as we trace her many aspects through the seasons, we appreciate the different gifts with which we are endowed.
     As a young girl in spring, she is innocent; playful and delightful, she responds to beauty with joy. When our hearts are in springtime mode, we are filled with clarity and truth, in touch with our integrity. In Maytime, when blossom's heady scent of desire is in the air, she reaches the borders of womanhood and looks with desire upon the beloved of her heart, rejoicing in the song of summer's freedom. When our hearts are in summer mode, we have power and self-confidence.
     In autumn, she becomes mother, fierce protector of all that she loves. In autumn, we reflect this face as our creative vision is fulfilled. When winter comes, she strips bare the bough, clarifying each soul. But many do not choose to know her now, for she grows thin and gray. Yet she is ever stronger, as ice and snow cover her with a new mantle.
      Those who fear the Old Woman's features never kiss her or call upon her wisdom. But she welcomes all, calling us to look again and find in ourselves the reflection of her wisdom. She calls us to realize that she is in every part of the universe, that the earth is but our most immediate mirror of her feature. Her truth, beauty, compassion and wisdom are in every place, in every face.

"Meditate upon the divine feminine."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

Goddess of the Door

Goddess of the Door

"Dark is the night, far is the dawning.
Sing for the shining of light on the way!
Hearken, be ready, attend to my calling. ]
Sing all you guardians who wait at the door."
  _____ Caitlin Matthews, "Midsummer Song"


    One of the ancient names for the island of Britain is the Island of the Strong Door, a title that is associated with Merlin's magical defense of the land. Another guardian, the Goddess of the Door, is discernible within the story of Merlin as a distinct archetype who works in association with her prophet. When he is still a little boy, he prophesies the history of Britain, ending with the appearance of the goddess who comes to close the door of the aeon. At the end of his life, Merlin's sister, Ganeida, takes over his prophetic role. She builds an observatory with seventy doors and windows into which he retires.
    The ancient Goddess of the Door turns the key of prophetic inspiration in those whom the she appoints to the spiritual guardianship of her land. The task of prophet of the land passes from man to woman to man to woman down the ages, every time the Goddess of the Door turns her key. These prophets successively enter her service as guardians of the door, becoming the timeless singers at the threshold between the worlds.
    The Goddess of the Door stands at this nexus point between the worlds for all people, regulating the flow of sequential time in our world and rejoicing in the timeless knowledge in the otherworld. She gives us each prophetic insight that enables us to guard our own boundaries and thresholds.

"Visualize and visit the place between the worlds where understanding and insight come to you. Greet the guardians there, and find one who will instruct you to guard your thresholds."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews] 

Inalienable Rights

Inalienable Rights

"Three indispensables of a nobleman: his harp, his blanket, and his cauldron."
    ____ triad from Laws of Hywel Dda


    Under most modern laws of distrait - whereby goods are remove from a household in compensation for debts unpaid - there are certain articles that cannot be removed. These usually include the items by which the householder earns her living, the tools of a worker's trade, the bed, and the means to make food. In the triad above, from the Welsh legal code formulated by King Hywel Dda (HOO'wel THA) in the ninth century, we discover that the three indispensable objects of the nobleman are the harp by which his bard entertained him, the blanket that kept his body warm in bed, and the cauldron that heated his food. Today, these items would probably be equivalent to the television set, the bed and the stove: means of entertainment, sleep and food.
    We have become used to the possession of certain inalienable rights: life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, among others, in our modern world. These are rights that we take for granted, that are enshrined in constitutions and maintained by the law of the land; and yet even within civilized societies there are many who do not enjoy these rights. The poor, the disadvantaged, and others who live on the margins of society need the action and voices of those who honor the commitment to the inalienable rights that we should all enjoy.

"If you could take only three things from your house right now, which would they be? Of all your basic, inalienable rights, which do you most cherish?"
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

Protecting the Animals

Protecting the Animals

"Keep them from  harm,
Keep them from jealousy,
Keep them from spell,
From North to South."
   ____ Scots Gaelic blessing (trans.CM)


    The protection of domesticated animals was an important concern to our ancestor, who relied upon the strength and life-giving nurture of animals in the daily round in our own time, the protection of animals takes on other connotations, involves other responsibilities.

     The ancient prayer above was uttered to protect animals from straying, from theft, from natural dangers; it was never intended to protect them from live transportation in long-distance trucks, or from fearful mass slaughter. The protection of domesticated animals today is something that everyone can be practically involved in by their choice of food, by their active campaigning, and by their boycotting of methods that are cruel and unnecessary.
     Regarding those animals that are used as guinea pigs in laboratory testing of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and diseases, we have less justification their ill-treatment and more responsibility for their care. The torture of any living creature is abhorrent, one does not have to be a bleeding heart to witness to the pain involved in this work. Finding other alternatives to the laboratory testing of animals will perhaps remove the onus of cruelty from their human kindred in the near future, but not until more humans use their voices to protect the animals who have no voice.

"Make your own prayer and blessing for animals and for those who are involved in their welfare." 
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]  

Reinauguraqting the Grail Quest

Reinaugurating the Grail Quest

I sometimes think that now, in our days, the Grail Quest has been reinaugurated.... This time the differencde is, it isn't only men who will ride out......"
    ____ John Moriarty, Turtle Was Gone a Long Time


    In an era when the Wasteland spoken of in the Grail legends seems an ever-present possibility, the time is dawning when all beings who are attuned to the well-being of life must step forward to be the the questers of the generation: to go seek and find the Grail, to bring its gifts to restoration to our sickened world. The Grail represents whatever is spiritually restorative: for different people, this may be different things. What is the quest today and who becomes a quester? The quest is for solutions that embrace all levels of existence - not the material world only, but also the otherworld whose spiritual impulse beats beneath the pulse of the manifest world. The questers are drawn from all walks of life, men and women of all generations who long with all their hearts for the world and all that is in to be healed, whole, and in harmony. They are not idealists who simply meditate and dream; they are strives who long for this restoration more than they love their own live, who are willing to endanger themselves. They are rising up now, in every land, working in a variety of ways, but always keenly aware of how important is the reconnection of our own world with the other. The Grail itself is a bridge that links both worlds and that, by the agency of the questers, is able to to dispense its healing to those places that need it most.This healing is the living currency of the otherworld, screaming between the worlds in a flood of creative ideas, technological solutions and more mature ways of living. This quest awaits all who feel the world's pain as their own.

"Where is the Grail in your own spiritual quest?"
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

Pillars of Society

Pillars of Society

"The three ruinations of a tribe: a lying chief, a false judge, and a lecherous priest."   ___ ancient Irish triad


     In Celtic society, the chief was known by his truth and generosity, the judge by his equity and the priest by his sexual continence. When state, legislature, and church fall, then the land and its people are at risk. The condemnations cited in the above triad do not strike us as old-fashioned, since our newspapers are still full of stories of the failure and falsehood of our own leaders.
The corrupt politician, the bribed judge, and the abusive priest are still common characters in our society.
    Corruptions of office may have become more commonplace throughout the world, but there are still many who uphold the dignity and honor of the oaths befitting their positions.
     Nothing less than the overhaul of all public institutions is now needed if suitable candidates for office are to be inspired and called forth to act on our behalf. If we hope to continue to find leaders worthy of their calling who will not fall under the burdens of the office or fall into the temptations of the office, we all must  pay serious attention to the need for change.
      The oaths of public servants and ministers represent sacred, binding contracts between a people and their gods. The chief or the politician is contracted to the spirits of the land; the judge is contracted to the spirit of truth; the priest is contracted to the guiding spirits of the universe. The breaking of such contracts brings great unhappiness to all.

"What are your personal criteria for those whom you elect to public office? What changes do you feel necessary to public institutions?"
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

JULY

Month of July - the hay is apt to smoke.

Ardent the heat; dissolved the snow;

The vagrant does not have a long confederacy.

___ anon. Welsh poem

    July brings us to the height of summer. This month's meditational themes include opening the ways, the goddess and the feminine, holidays and wider horizons, the world as lover, recommitment to promises and vows, and secrecy and privacy.